As I drove into my subdivision in the back entrance, I noticed a boatload of political signs on the corner the other day. The signs are everywhere. Vote for me…vote for me….vote for me. I’ve been getting phone calls, people knocking on my door. All wanting to reach me to vote for them.
People are tired of being lied to. People are tired of being sold to. Marketed to. We just sort of blank that stuff out…gloss over it all…ignore it.
Do those door knockers, callers, or signs really get attention. Would I REALLY remember the name of the person on that sign as I’m driving? For me, the answer is no.
I’m convinced that most people want attention.
My sister-in-law had psychological problems. She would literally throw herself down the stairs and break her leg for attention. In my own family, I have people who do crazy things for attention.
But all that stuff is like the sea of those voter signs. No one stands out. They all look the same. There’s nothing different about the tactics of the signs, nor in their promising speeches or even in the campaigns. It’s all the same.
As much as people want attention, want to be noticed, most are afraid. That one hits close to home. I’m actually an odd-ball. I could care less if I get attention. When I look in the mirror, I see myself and who I am and am proud. Being on TV and getting publicized through my blog scares me. It’s nerve wracking, because I know I AM different. I’m not like anyone else. My thoughts, my ideas, I’ve always been the odd ball in the group. Since birth, I’ve had a hard time relating to others. As a child, I got made fun of, teased, tormented. It wasn’t much better living with a man for 14 years who did the same.
And even at my own church, which I dearly love, there are not many that I can really relate to. I don’t feel like there’s some secret club ANYWHERE that I fit in with…
That used to tear me up. It used to hurt. Why can’t I just be like everyone else? Why can’t I just fit in? And…I’m sad to admit this, but for many years, I DID pretend. To my friends, to my church, to everyone.
I pretended I was someone I’m not because it’s easier to do that, it’s easier to blend in, than to stand out.
When you stand out, when you’re different, you are teased, mocked more, persecuted more. Who wants that? It’s easier to live comfortably. It’s easier to fit in with the sea of all those voter signs on the lawn.
What I’m learning right now as I write this, is that it’s okay to be different.
It’s okay to just be ME. It’s okay to color outside the lines, heck, if it was a coloring contest, I’d redraw the picture. lol. Everyone else’s picture is a turkey, mine would be a cornucopia. Forget coloring outside the lines, if I’m going to be different, I might as well be DIFFERENT!
But even in being different, it’s hard to stand out.
I wrote an article that no one else on the whole internet wrote. I was quite surprised that was even possible, seeing how there is nothing new under the sun. But, I searched the whole internet with some tools us bloggers have and found nothing. There was nothing about it. I felt good. Yes! I wrote something that was completely unique. True to myself in my personal experience and what do you know…a few months later, I am seeing that SAME title article on 4 other money saving blogs now.
But, it’s not just blogging. It was the same way on eBay. When I sold on eBay, I was in the top 5 sellers, on any given day, as far as amount of sales go. I was the most expensive on eBay in my niche and I STILL got a ton of sales. I prided myself on being different. I walked my own path, did my own thing and had a ton of followers. And yet, many other eBay sellers in my niche would copy me. They’d steal watermarked pictures, they’d steal my words, I actually put in coding on my eBay site where they could not copy/paste anything from my ads. They stole my ideas, everything I did was copied, until it all became in a sea like everyone else was doing. I can’t tell you it wasn’t upsetting. That I didn’t get mad because they were all skating on my ideas, my abilities, and my time I put into it. But, I can say this….I became known as a leader in my niche.
People followed me because I was a leader. They knew I was the one with the cool ideas, they knew, over time, that it was me. That everyone else was just copying.
I think that if you are different…instead of running and hiding, you should embrace it. Yes, people will come along and copy you. It hurt my income every time someone copied me on eBay and it hurt my income with that article as well, and because of my blog, because I put myself out there more, I get teased more, ridiculed more. People don’t like this or that. They hate me because I’m a Christian. They say Jesus isn’t coming and I’m stupid, yet others tell me it’s impossible to be a single stay at home mom and how stupid I am and that I need to get a “real” job. Even close friends try to set me up with men, thinking there is something wrong with me that I don’t actively pursue men. WHY? Like, I’m 100% happy with who I am. I don’t need a man to make me happy. And I certainly have a lot going on in my life. My kids are important to me. Any time spent with a man would take away from them and I’m just not willing to do that at this point in my life. But, it’s different. I’m different. In almost every aspect of my life, I’m different…and I’m not afraid.
Yes, it’s scary to go against the grain, that is manipulation of our culture on us.
I’m tired of fitting in. I’m tired of doing things like everyone else. I’m tired of pretending that I’m someone I’m not because I have different ideas and beliefs, different values.
The best way to get noticed is by being genuinely different. Listen, as Christians, we are all to be lights to the world, salt of the earth, we don’t blend in the background. We make some noise. We get persecuted, yes. That is all a part of counting the cost of following Christ. I lost my husband due to following Christ, and I AM BETTER OFF FOR IT!
Don’t blend in. Don’t let everyone else tell YOU WHO YOU ARE. I’m done letting my friends tell me who I am. I’m done not being myself, afraid to be different, afraid I’m going to offend someone, make someone mad. I’m done not being me. Stand or fall, I will at least be myself.
Whoever you are, I encourage you to do the same! If you need help remembering that, come back here every week, and I’ll remind you. There’s a famous quote out there that says, “Be yourself. Everyone else is already taken.” My message today is simple, whoever you are, don’t be ashamed of it. Don’t let anyone take away your joy. Rich or poor, wrong or right, tall or short, you are loved by the One that created you…period.
